Month: September 2016

Tuesday, October 11th is the monthly chapter meeting for Florida-Broward County, featuring speaker Paddy Cunningham, Landscaping for Butterflies and Birds. It’s held at the UF-IFAS Broward County Extension Education Conference Room, 3245 College Ave., Davie, FL 33314 from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Singer-Songwriter, Meredith Jones is teaming up with the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) to build awareness of butterfly conservation needs. Founded in 1992, NABA is a non-profit organization that promotes public enjoyment and stewardship of butterflies. Jones will help spread the word about NABA’s work and communicate the importance of butterflies as indicators of environmental change. Butterflies are sensitive to impacts from development, pesticides and a shifting climate. They are the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” for the health of ecosystems and respond to stressors faster than other animals. Butterflies act as an early warning system for degradation in addition to being major pollinators for a variety of plants.

During her upcoming tour, Meredith will share her passion for nature with audiences and highlight the enjoyment butterflies bring to her life. Also, a social media campaign is planned. Inspired by environmental causes, Jones understands the significance of pollution and other factors on people’s lives. Butterflies are a great way to introduce a new generation to the outdoors and raise the profile of wildlife viewing. Gardening for butterflies is therapeutic and can educate both urban and rural residents about larger issues. Habitat loss is the primary reason for declining butterfly populations. It is common for a butterfly species to rely on a specific host plant as the food source for its caterpillars. If the plant is gone, the butterfly is unable to reproduce.

Prairie species are rapidly declining due to historic and modern conversion of native grasslands. In the news, indiscriminate spraying to control mosquitos is killing butterflies along with bees in The South. Expanding knowledge about the role disease plays in butterfly management is of increasing importance. Of course, the status of the Monarch has been receiving a great deal of attention in recent years.

“Raising awareness about the environmental significance of butterflies is a priority for NABA and is a cause that deeply resonates with me.”

-Meredith Jones

To learn more about Jones’ music and her commitment to conservation visit her Facebook page or follow along on Twitter and Instagram.
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) is a 501 c(3) non-profit entity headquartered in Morristown, NJ. The organization’s largest project is the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX. Through an active Chapter system and engaged membership, NABA works locally to promote on-the-ground conservation work and institutes policy initiatives to further its mission. For more information visit http://www.naba.org. Connect with us on social media @NABAButterfly.

NABA, the largest single organization dedicated to the study and enjoyment of wild butterflies, is announcing the opportunity for butterfly enthusiasts at colleges and universities to establish Student Chapters. Institutions of higher learning foster environmental stewardship in the next generation, enhance butterfly research and work to engage communities on and off-campus. By partnering with students and their faculty sponsors, NABA intends to extend the reach of its mission and interface with today’s (and future) natural resources leaders.

Student Chapters will be integral to increasing butterfly counts across the continent, hosting field trips and inviting guest speakers to campuses across Canada, Mexico and the United States. These activities will highlight the conservation needs of butterflies in the face of intensified land use and other population threats. Creating and maintaining quality pollinator habitat will be an important undertaking for the new Student Chapters. NABA’s immense 30-year data set for butterfly populations will serve as unprecedented material to be analyzed through student projects.

Student Chapter meetings will be open to the public to improve the collaborative nature of gatherings. Membership benefits include access to NABA publications: American Butterflies & Butterfly Gardener. Students will be exposed to networking opportunities which will result in on-the-job training in butterfly identification, study design, survey techniques, data management and learning host plants necessary to complete butterfly life cycles.

Those interested in forming a Student Chapter should contact NABA’s Chapter Liaison, Laura Bianco at bianco@naba.org to receive sample bylaws and other information. The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) is a 501 c(3) non-profit entity headquartered in Morristown, NJ. The organization’s largest project is the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX. Through an active Chapter system and engaged membership, NABA works locally to promote on-the-ground conservation work and institutes policy initiatives to further its mission. For more information visit http://www.naba.org. Connect with us on social media @NABAButterfly.

Demonstrating to others the important role that butterfly enthusiasts play in the conservation of wildlife, helping to sustain species and preserve biodiversity=

Informing, educating and implementing activities that explain that wildlife viewing is playing an increasingly important role in natural resources stewardship and land management.

Working directly with our network of chapters and individuals to fund, design, and carryout international and local initiatives for enhancement and education that introduce more people to the wonders of Butterflying and nature observation.

Helping to encourage people for the first time to view butterflies as wildlife and essential components of the ecosystems upon which we depend.

To learn even more about NABA, please visit our social media outlets to get updates about activities and see how your generous gift helps us preserve butterfly populations for future generations.

The 100 acre National Butterfly Center is the premier location in the United States to experience the beauty, drama and emotion of wild butterflies. You will see incredible numbers of kaleidoscopically-colored wild butterflies. The clouds of butterflies are at the National Butterfly Center because, by planting thousands of plants that the butterflies need for nectar and for caterpillar growth, we have created a butterfly paradise that sustains large populations of hundreds of species of wild butterflies.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (LRGV) is the very best location in the United States for a facility of this kind because:

Almost 40% of the 700+ butterflies that occur in the United States can be seen in a three county area of the LRGV.

With over 300 species, the LRGV has nearly as many butterflies as the states of New Mexico and Arizona, and more than the entire eastern United States.

Approximately 150 species of North American butterflies can be seen only in the LRGV, or by traveling to Mexico. More than 200 have been seen at the National Butterfly Center, including a number of rarities and U.S. records.

Subtropical climate makes butterflying a year-round family activity.

An exciting blend of American and Mexican cultures already draws many tourists to the Texas/Mexican Border, as well as thousands of Winter Texans who spend up to 6 months each year in the Valley.

The National Butterfly Center is an important link in a wildlife corridor running from Falcon Dam to Boca Chica where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Butterfly Center is dedicated to education, conservation and scientific research on wild butterflies. Its mission is “Growing Connections”. The National Butterfly Center connects people to butterflies, which are intimately connected to native plants, which themselves are connected to the earth.

The Summer 2016 issues of American Butterflies and Butterfly Gardener are out and available! One year of issues of these two gorgeous magazines is mailed out to you for becoming a member of NABA, an incredible value on top of your supporting our conservation efforts for butterflies across the continent!

Click here for an exclusive sneak peak at the latest American Butterflies!

David H. Bartholomew Location: Sunol Regional Wilderness Alameda County, CA So dry, the roadway along Alameda Creek is being watered down for the construction vehicles, otherwise there would have been few butterflies to be seen. Most of what I was able to photograph were puddling. Species Mustard White (6) Sara Orangetip (5) Orange Sulphur (2) […]